Heating rack

ABSTRACT

A heating rack includes a plurality of elongate collector units ( 26 ), each elongate collector unit including an elongate support section ( 126 ) which defines a contact surface for supporting an object ( 16 ) to be heated and an elongate collector section ( 226 ) shaped to define a channel ( 35 ) for receiving exudate flowing via the support sections from a supported object and, in use, to direct the exudate to a collection zone at an end of the channel, wherein the support section and collector section are spaced apart over at least a part of the length of the elongate collector unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a heating rack and in particular, although notexclusively, to a heating rack for heating and cooking food. Theinvention has particular relevance to the cooking of fatty foods overnaked flames such as in use of barbecues.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is to be understood that the present invention is not confined to aheating rack for a barbecue and may be applied to, for example, cookingovens or grills and industrial ovens. Where the context permits, thepresent invention may be used in the heating of other objects whereheating an object results in the melting or exuding of at least a partof the object.

One of the main problems with cooking fatty foods such as sausages,meats kebabs, beef burgers and the like over charcoal or gas heatedsynthetic charcoal or coals, is that the fat runs down and drips ontothe heated coals and ignites. This causes flames to rise and overcook orburn the food being cooked, and a resulting flare-up may cause personaldanger to the user.

There have been a number of attempts, some very complex, to prevent thefat from igniting. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,725, there isshown a grill having a grid element. The grid element comprises a baseelement and upstanding ribs. Openings are provided.

One problem associated with the prior art is that those solutions haveresulted in a reduction of direct heat radiation from the heat source.That is undesirable because it reduces the cooking efficiency.

In the specification of our co-pending International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/GB 03/004807 we have described and claimed a heating rackcomprising a plurality of elongate members, each elongate member havinga contact surface on which an object to be heated is placed to beexposed to a heat source and a first lateral portion shaped to form achannel disposed below the contact surface for receiving and directingexudate from the object to a collection zone at one or both ends of thechannel, each said elongate member being spaced from an adjacentelongate member to expose the object directly to the heat source whenplaced at any position along the contact surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in or amodification of the heating rack of said co-pending International PatentApplication.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provideda heating rack comprising a plurality of elongate collector units, eachelongate collector unit comprising an elongate support section whichdefines a contact surface for supporting an object to be heated and anelongate collector section shaped to define a channel for receivingexudate from a supported object and, in use, to direct said exudate to acollection zone at an end of the channel, wherein said support sectionand collector section are spaced apart over at least a part of thelength of the elongate collector unit.

Thus, in contrast to the embodiments described in the aforementionedInternational Patent Application, the present invention teaches that theheating rack may comprise an elongate member in the form of an elongatecollector unit in which the support and collector sections are spacedapart over at least a part of the length of the elongate collector unit.However, in common with said embodiments of the aforementionedapplication, the present invention envisages that exudate shall flow ina controlled manner via the support sections to the respective collectorsections instead of predominantly dripping directly downwards betweenthe successive contact surfaces and onto a source of heat, such as thatfrom a bed of charcoal.

The support and collector sections may be spaced apart alongsubstantially the whole of the length of the elongate collector unit,and may be fixed in position relative to one another by virtue of eachbeing attached to a frame member. Said frame member may be employed alsoto locate and maintain spaced apart a plurality of the elongatecollector units.

Alternatively the support and collector sections of a collector unit maybe in contact with one another at one or more positions between therespective ends of the support and collector sections. The two sectionsmay be joined together at said points of contact whereby the twosections of a collector unit provide mutual structural support for oneanother. Preferably the two section are spaced apart over at least 50%,and more preferably over at least 75% of the length of the collectorunit.

Preferably the spacing between the support and collector sections is atleast 0.1 mm, more preferably at least 1 mm whereby exudate flowing downa first side surface of the support section may pass underneath thatsupport section, between said collector section and the channel of thecollector section, to a position substantially underneath a second sidesurface of the support section. Thus, in the event that any debris hasaccumulated in a part of the channel under the first side of the supportsection, exudate can circumvent that debris by flowing underneath thesupport section to that part of the channel underneath said other,second side surface of the support section. Preferably, for mostapplications, said spacing is less than 10 mm, more preferably less than5 mm. Optionally that spacing may be sufficiently small to result inflow from the support section to the collector section being in the formof a film under the influence of surface tension effect, and not by adrip action.

In the case of an elongate collector unit in which the support andcollector sections are not joined to one another between the endsthereof, said sections may be supported relative to one another by meansof transverse spacer means such as a frame member, in a manner whichallows the sections to be separated for cleaning purposes. Thus, one ofthe two sections may be secured substantially permanently to a framemember and the other section may be selectively releasably secured tothat frame member. Alternatively a plurality of support sections may besecured to a first frame member and a plurality of respective collectorsections may be secured to a second frame member in a manner in whichthe positioning and separation of associated support and collectorsections may be achieved by locating together or separating the twoframe members.

One or each of the support and collector sections may be formed fromsheet metal. Alternatively, one or both of the support and collectorsections may be formed from cast metal, e.g. cast iron, aluminium orstainless steel, or other cast materials such as ceramics.

Preferably the spacing between the contact surfaces of successivesupport sections is between 5 mm and 15 mm, particularly in the case ofa heating rack to be employed in a barbecue. Although the heating rackwill operate successfully to collect exudate if the spacing ofsuccessive collector surfaces is less than 5 mm it is considered thatthat spacing is generally necessary in order to ensure that at least thespacing of successive collector sections is sufficient to allow a usefuldegree of direct radiant heating and convection heating through theheating rack. In particular, it is preferred that the spacing ofneighbouring edges of successive collector sections is at least 3 mm,preferably 8 mm or more.

The support section may have, in transverse cross-section, asubstantially rectangular shape. That is, the support section may beformed from a rectangular section strip of steel, or it may be cast orextruded or pultruded to that or a similar shape. Other potentiallysuitable shapes for the support section are as disclosed in theaforementioned co-pending International Patent Application. Typically,in use, a support section of generally rectangular cross-section will bearranged with the longer side vertical, but the longer side mayalternatively be arranged to lie horizontally. A square cross-section isalso contemplated. An upper surface of the support section, the contactsurface, may be shaped to provide a trough which extends lengthwise ofthat section.

The collector section surface which faces the support section may havein transverse cross-section a shape which is substantially curved or ofan angled form, e.g. “V” shape is transverse section thereby to definesaid channel.

More generally, it is taught that the collector section, and optionallyalso the support section, may have a maximum width in the lower halfthereof which is less than the maximum width in the upper half thereof,the upper half being that half which is closest to the contact surfaceof the collector unit. It is also preferred that the minimum spacing ofsuccessive collector units is that between the contact surfaces, or theregion of the side surfaces closest to said contact surfaces. Thus, asin the case of the above referred V shape, there is good provision fordirect radiation of heat to the object to be heated.

In a further of its aspects the present invention envisages that thecollector and support sections may be of identical or substantiallysimilar transverse cross-sectional shapes.

It has been described above that a plurality of the elongate collectorunits may be maintained spaced apart by a frame member. Anotherconstruction taught by the present invention for maintaining collectorunits transversely spaced comprises connector sections which extendbetween the respective ends of neighbouring collector units.Additionally or alternatively neighbouring collector units of a pair maybe maintained spaced apart by one or more intermediate bridge sectionspositioned between the ends of the collector units. Any said bridgesections may extend between the support sections and/or collectorsections of a pair of neighbouring collector units.

If two successive collector units are each of a kind comprising supportand collector sections which are joined to, or integral with, other overa part of their respective lengths, it is envisaged that generally itwill be preferable to provide the bridge section(s) solely between thecollector sections. If two successive collector units each comprisesupport and collector sections which are separable from one another, itis taught that the bridge section(s) may be provided between the supportsections.

If a bridge section is provided between two support sections it ispreferred that the bridge section has transverse side surfaces whichincline towards one another as considered in a downwards direction fromthe contact surfaces of the adjacent support section closest to thecollector section. Similarly it is preferred that an underside surfaceof the bridge section, opposite an upper surface which, in use, supportsor confronts an object to be heated, is of a profile which inclines in adownwards direction, away from the support section contact surface, froma position mid-way between neighbouring support sections to thepositions at which ends of the bridge section contact the respectivesupport sections of a pair of neighbouring collector units. Thus anyexudate received by the bridge section is directed to flow towards thecollector sections and to be restrained from dripping downwards betweenthe collector units.

A bridge section may have a substantially planar upper surface forconfronting an object to be heated, and that surface may besubstantially co-planar with the contact surfaces of the two supportsections between which the bridge section extends.

Although the provision of an intermediate bridge section has beendescribed above in the context of a heating rack comprising a collectorunit having support and collector sections which are spaced apart overat least a part of the length of the collector unit, it is to beunderstood that in another aspect of the present invention saidintermediate bridge section(s) may be provided in the context ofelongate members comprising support and collector sections which are notspaced apart.

Each elongate collector unit, or at least the collector section thereof,may be non-rectilinear as considered in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to the contact surface and parallel with the length of theelongate member. It may be curved or of an inverted V shape in saidsection such that exudate entering the collection channel is encouragedto flow in a direction towards an end of the channel.

In a further of its aspects the present invention provides a heatingrack assembly comprising the heating rack of the invention and supportstructure wherein said support structure supports the elongate collectorunits in a manner in which the collector channels are each inclined tothe horizontal thereby to encourage flow of exudate lengthwise in thechannels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings,in which: —

FIG. 1 shows schematically a cross-sectional view of a prior knownbarbecue using a known design of heating rack;

FIGS. 2 and 3 show schematically cross-sectional views of heating rackmembers constructed in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, and show the stages of cooking a sausage;

FIG. 4 shows schematically a perspective view of the heating rack ofFIGS. 2 and 3 when in use;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective a heating rack in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a barbecue tray for use with the heatingrack of the present invention;

FIGS. 7 to 10 show details of other collector units in accordance withthe present invention;

FIGS. 11 and 12 show respectively in cross-section and in perspectivethe manner in which a collector unit of the present invention performsin the case of a partial blockage;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of part of another heating rack inaccordance with the present invention, and

FIG. 14 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrow X of FIG. 13and taken in a plane mid-way between collector units.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A known barbecue, see FIG. 1, comprises a heat source 10 provided by,for example, a naked flame, hot glowing charcoal, coke or coal, orsynthetic heated coals made from ceramics, cement or porous volcanicrocks and heated by a gas flame. A rack 12 is positioned above the heatsource 10 to support the food 16 which is to be cooked. The rack 12comprises a plurality of rack members in the form of spaced elongatebars 14 of circular cross-sectional shape. The bars 14 are welded to asupport frame (not shown) that extends transverse to the length of thebars.

FIG. 1 further shows a sausage being heated by the heat source 10 to atemperature at which fat 18 from within the sausage starts to melt andrun along the underside of the sausage. The fat builds up into a droplet20 that conventionally then falls onto the heat source 10 and ignites.Some of the melted fat 18 runs along the underside of the sausage untilit touches the bars 14. The melted fat then builds up around the barsand drips off the underside of the bars as a droplet 22 and again, inconsequence, the fat ignites or produces smoke. The increased flameactivity due to the burning fat results in the sausage 16 being burnt orovercooked, and also produces a further flow of fat and juices that fallonto the heat source 10. Thus, potentially the cooking of the sausage 16and other food on the rack 12 will proceed in an uncontrollable manner.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown a rack 24 constructed inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention and which performs afunction generally similar to the rack 12 of FIG. 1. However, instead ofthe aforedescribed conventional circular section bars 14, in accordancewith the present invention the rack 24 comprises a plurality of mutuallyparallel and spaced apart elongate collector units 26 each formed fromstainless steel strip.

Each collector unit 26 is of a two part construction comprising anelongate support section 126 and an elongate collector section 226. Thetwo sections are maintained parallel with one another in the requiredrelative orientation, with a small spacing therebetween. Thatpositioning is achieved by each end of each section being secured, e.g.by welding, to a support frame (not shown). That frame also serves tomaintain each of the collector units of the plurality of collector unitsmutually parallel and spaced apart.

Each support section 126 has a contact surface 27 on which an object tobe heated is placed to be exposed to the heat source 10. The section 126is of a substantially rectangular shape in cross-section, and isarranged, in use, with the side faces 30 thereof extending substantiallyvertically, said side faces being of greater dimension in cross-sectionthan the contact surface 27. (It is not essential, however, for thesection 126 to be vertical. It could be inclined away from a verticalaxis provided that the side faces 30 of the support section 126 extendgenerally in a downward direction.)

The neighbouring edges of successive support surfaces 27 are spacedapart by between 5 and 15 mm, more particularly in this embodiment theyare spaced apart by 10 mm.

The other shorter side 127 of the rectangular cross-section confrontsthe collector section 226 and is spaced therefrom by a distance in therange 0.1 mm to 5 mm, more preferably between 1 mm and 2 mm. Preferably,for a particular use, the gap is selected such that transfer of fat orother exudate is in the form of a film in contrast to transfer bydiscrete drips falling freely from the support section.

The elongate collector section 226 also is formed from an elongate stripof stainless steel, and is deformed to a curved shape in cross-section.The section 226 is orientated with the concave surface 32 confrontingthe lower side face 127 of the support section 126, the two sectionsbeing arranged symmetrically about a vertical plane which extendscentrally through the support section 126. The width of each collectorsection preferably is in the range 3 mm to 10 mm. More particularly, thespacing between neighbouring edges of successive sections 226 is atleast 4 mm and in this embodiment is 10 mm, the section 126 having awidth of 2 mm and section 226 having a width of 4 mm.

The concave surface 32 defines a channel 35 which, in use, collects anyexudate 18, usually liquid or fat, that flows down either of the sidefaces 30 of the support section 126.

In use of the heating rack shown in FIG. 2 the melted fat 18 from withinthe sausage flows to the bottom of the sausage and collects on theunderside thereof. Provided that the successive support surfaces 27 arenot spaced too far apart, e.g. that they are within the preferred rangeof 5 to 15 mm, the melted fat will flow along the underside of thesausage under the influence of surface tension effects, until it touchesa section 126. As soon as the melted fat comes into contact with a sideface 30 of a section 126 it is induced to run down the side face bygravity and surface tension effect and wetting of the faces 30. Theexudates 18 collected at the two side faces 30 of each collector unitthen enter the channel 35, as shown in FIG. 3.

Assisted by a longitudinal inclination of the channels 35 relative tothe horizontal, the melted fat collected in the channels 35 flows to oneor both ends of the collector unit. The inclination of the channels 35can be achieved by inclining each collector unit 26 slightly along itslength by mounting in that position relative to a support frame of thecollector units, or by the inclined mounting of that support frame to abarbecue housing 38 (see FIG. 6).

Alternatively the collector units 26, or at least the channel sections226 thereof, may be made slightly curved as shown in FIG. 5, beinghigher at mid-span than at their ends, with that curvature optionallybeing maintained with assistance from transverse support bars 36 alsowelded at their ends to the frame 34. The degree of curvature of thecollector units should not be so great as to cause food to be at risk ofrolling off the rack, and preferably the rack has said surfaces 27 ofthe collector units about 1 to 2 mm higher in the centre of the lengththan at the ends thereof. In a further alternative, instead of beingcurved along its length the collector unit or channel section thereofmay comprise two rectilinear section, e.g. to be substantially of a veryshallow V shape as viewed in longitudinal section.

FIG. 6 shows a barbecue tray 38 having four legs 39 and a lid or heatshield 40. Charcoal or a like heat source is placed in the tray 38 andthen the rack 24 is positioned over the heat source. (Although arectangular tray is shown, it will be understood that other shapes suchas a circular shape tray and circular shape rack may be employed.)

The tray 38 of FIG. 6 incorporates two ledges 42 onto which the rack 24is rested. Each ledge 42 has a recess 43 of a V shape section. The rack24 is positioned with the ends of the collector unit channels 35terminating above the respective recesses 43. In consequence, molten fat18 flows along each channel in two directions and is collected in therespective recesses 43. Each recess 43 may slope to the rear of thetray. Furthermore, an aperture 44 may be provided in the bottom of eachrecess 43 such that melted fat may run out of the recess through theaperture 44 into a container (not shown) positioned under the aperture44.

The preferred dimensions of the channel 35 are a width which extends byat least 0.5 mm (and preferably around 1 mm) outwards from a respectiveside face 30 and a height of at least 1 mm (and preferably about 2.5mm), in order to reduce the risk of the channel being blocked. Othersuitable dimensions are that the vertical height of the support section126 is in the range 5 to 10 mm and the width of the collector section226 is 3 to 10 mm. These dimensions are provided solely by way ofexample as an aid to understanding of one preferred embodiment of theinvention and it is to be understood that they may be changed withoutdeparting from the general scope of the invention.

To ensure that cooking of the food placed on the collector units 26 isachieved as much as possible by direct heating, the collector section226 should not extend unduly laterally towards one another. It isthereby ensured that there is a good path for radiated and convectedheat from the heat source positioned beneath the rack to the foodproduct supported above the rack.

In the aforedescribed construction the collector unit comprises twosections each formed from strips of stainless steel but other materialsmay be employed. An example of an alternative is another type of steelor cast iron. One or each of the collector unit sections may be chromiumplated or enameled. In some applications it may be appropriate to use amaterial such as PTFE which provides a relatively non-stick surface.

In other embodiments of the present invention a rack comprises collectorunits in which the two sections thereof are of a slightly differentconstruction. As seen in FIG. 7, a support section 70 has an uppersupport surface 71 of a concave form such that, particularly if thesection 70 is orientated in use to be longitudinally inclined, exudatemay flow lengthwise in that channel 71 as well as falling down sidefaces 72 of the section 70. It is not essential that the collectorsection 73 is of a curved shape in cross-section and, as also seen inFIG. 7, it may be of a V shape.

The support section of a collector unit need not be of a unitaryconstruction, and may comprise two vertical sections 80 as seen in FIG.8, each provided in a vertical orientation and maintained slightlyspaced apart by virtue of being welded at respective end regions to asupport frame of the rack. Additionally or alternatively two such strips80 may be secured to one another at spaced apart intervals along theirlength, e.g. by welding.

It is also not a specific requirement of the present invention that thesupport and collector sections are separate from one another and heldrelative to one another solely at their respective ends. Thus, as shownin FIG. 9, a collector unit 90 may comprise a support section 92provided at intervals spaced along the length thereof with lugs 93welded to the upper concave surface 94 of the collector section 95. In aconstruction of that type it is not necessary that each of the twosections are each secured to a surrounding frame of the rack and, asindicated in FIG. 9, the end 96 of the support section 92 may lieoutwards longitudinally from the end 97 of the collector section. Inthat construction only the ends of the support section need to besecured to a rack frame, and a space is created between the end 97 ofthe collector section and the frame to allow exudate flowing along thechannel to fall from the end of the channel into a collector, such as acollector recesses 43 of the barbecue construction of FIG. 6.

A collector unit 100 of an extruded or cast form is shown in FIG. 10 andcomprises support and collector sections 101, 102 which are of identicalshape. That shape is substantially of V form and the upper surface 103,as viewed in FIG. 10, is formed with a longitudinally extending troughformation 104. The trough 104 of the support section 101 allows fordirect drainage of any exudate from a product resting on that sectionwhilst the trough 104 of the collector section 102 collects any exudatewhich has run down the side faces 105 of the support section 101.

The collector unit 100 of FIG. 10 is shown in use in FIGS. 11 and 12.This makes clear that if debris 106 blocks one side of the trough 104 ofthe collector section 102, exudate can flow under the lower edge 107 ofthe support section 101 and continue lengthwise to an end collectingzone. Thus, by virtue of the support and collector sections not beingformed integrally along their whole length there is achieved an improvedresistance to overall blockage as compared with a construction havingtwo separate channels with no facility for flow therebetween.

In an embodiment in which the collector unit is of a two partconstruction either of the two sections, e.g. 101 and 102 of FIG. 10,may be inverted if desired. Similarly both of these independentsections, or the whole of a collector unit of integrated support andcollector sections may be held in an orientation inverted relative thatabove described. An example of a particular instance in which inversionmay be desired is if it is wished to clean the collector unit, with theheat source then being run at a high temperature.

In the construction of FIGS. 4 and 5 the collector units are formed fromstainless steel strips and are maintained spaced apart by being securedat their ends to a support frame. The present invention further teachesthat the collector units may be maintained spaced apart alternatively oradditionally by a bridge section at a position intermediate the ends ofthe collector units. An example of a bridge section which is castintegrally with cast support sections is now described with reference toFIGS. 13 and 14, but the general shape features of the bridge sectionmay be employed also in an intermediate bridge section for use inconnecting collector units formed from strip material.

FIG. 13 shows part of two cast support sections 201 which are formedintegrally with a bridge section 202, at a position which isintermediate the respective ends of the sections 201. Each bridgesection has an upper surface 203 which is substantially co-planar withthe upper, contact surfaces 204 of the support sections. The underside205 of the bridge section is curved in a downwards direction from acentral region 206 to the ends where it meets the side surfaces 207 ofthe support sections. Each bridge section 202 also has a pair oftransverse side faces 208 (see FIG. 14). Optionally these are inclinedtowards one another in a direction away from the upper surface 203. Inconsequence any exudate flowing from an object on the surface 203 tendsto be preferentially directed via the side faces 208 and underside 205,to the side faces 207 of the support sections in contrast to drippingdownwards between the support sections and directly onto the heatsource.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A heating rack for subjecting a supportedobject to direct radiant heating from a heat source beneath the rack,said heating rack comprising: a plurality of elongate support sectionsand a corresponding number of elongate collector sections whereby eachsupport section for supporting an object to be heated has only oneelongate collector section associated therewith for the collection ofexudate, each elongate support section defining a contact surface which,in use, is for supporting an object to be heated by a heat sourcebeneath the heating rack, each elongate support section havingassociated therewith a respective one of the elongate collectorsections, each elongate collector section shaped to define a channelwhich, in use, is vertically aligned with a respective one of theelongate support sections for receiving all of the exudate flowing fromthe associated support section and to direct said exudate to acollection zone at an end of the channel; and each elongate supportsection and associated elongate collector section defining a collectorunit and successive collector units being spaced apart so as to permitdirect radiant heating of the supported object which is to be heated bysaid heat source in a direction substantially perpendicular to adirection of spacing between the collector units concurrent with thecollector section channels being able to receive the exudate, whereinsaid elongate support and collector sections of the collector unit arespaced apart over at least a part of the length of the elongatecollector unit, the support section of the collector unit has a firstside surface and a second side surface and the collector section of thecollector unit in use extends under each said side surface of thesupport section of the collector unit thereby simultaneously to collectany exudate flowing down each of said side surfaces of the supportsection concurrent with the supported object being subject to heating bydirect radiation of heat from the heat source via the spacings betweensuccessive collector units, neighboring support sections being spacedapart by at least one interconnecting bridge section which is positionedintermediate of ends of the support sections, and the bridge sectionhaving an upper surface which in use faces towards said supported objectand an underside surface, said underside surface being inclined in adownward direction away from said upper surface, towards the sidesurface of at least one of the two support sections between which thebridge section extends whereby, in use, exudate received on the uppersurface of the bridge section is directed to flow in a direction towardsa side surface of at least one of the two support sectionsinterconnected by said bridge section.
 2. The heating rack according toclaim 1, wherein the support and collector sections are spaced apartover at least 50% of the length of the collector unit.
 3. The heatingrack according to claim 1, wherein the support and collector sections ofa collector unit are spaced apart by at least 1 mm and less than 10 mm.4. The heating rack according to claim 3, wherein said spacing is lessthan 5 mm.
 5. The heating rack according to claim 1, wherein the supportand collector sections of the collector unit are joined together atpoints of contact whereby the two sections of the collector unit providemutual structural support for one another.
 6. The heating rack accordingto claim 1, wherein the support sections of the plurality of collectorunits are maintained spaced apart by transverse spacer means, and thesupport and collector sections may be moved apart for cleaning purposes.7. The heating rack according to claim 1, wherein the spacing betweenthe contact surfaces of successive support sections is at least 8 mm. 8.The heating rack according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface ofthe support section defines a trough which extends lengthwise of thesupport section.
 9. The heating rack according to claim 1, wherein atleast one of the collector section and the support section of thecollector unit has a maximum width of the lower half thereof which isless than the maximum width of the upper half thereof, said upper halfbeing that half which is closest to the contact surface of the collectorunit.
 10. The heating rack according to claim 1, wherein the minimumspacing of successive collector units is that between said contactsurfaces, or the regions of side surfaces of the support sections whichare closest to said contact surfaces.
 11. The heating rack according toclaim 1, wherein the contact surfaces of successive support sections arespaced apart by less than 15 mm.
 12. The heating rack according to claim11, wherein interconnecting bridge section(s) serve as transverse spacermeans to maintain each of the collector or support sections of aplurality of collector units transversely spaced relative to oneanother.
 13. The heating rack according to claim 12, wherein theinterconnecting bridge section(s) has a substantially planar uppersurface for confronting an object to be heated, and said upper surfaceis substantially co-planar with the contact surfaces of the two supportsections between which the interconnecting bridge section extends. 14.The heating rack according to claim 1, wherein the spacing ofneighbouring edges of successive collector sections is at least 3 mm.15. The heating rack according to claim 14, wherein said spacing is atleast 8 mm.
 16. The heating rack according to claim 1, whereinneighbouring collector units are spaced apart to allow an objectsupported by the support surfaces of neighbouring collector units to beexposed directly to heat radiated from a heat source in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the direction in which the said supportsurfaces are spaced apart.
 17. A heating rack assembly comprising aheating rack according to claim 1 and support structure, wherein saidsupport structure supports the elongate collector units in a manner inwhich the collector channels are each inclined to the horizontal therebyto encourage flow of exudate lengthwise in the channels.
 18. A heatingrack for subjecting a supported object to direct radiant heating from aheat source beneath the rack, said heating rack comprising: a pluralityof elongate support sections and a corresponding number of elongatecollector sections whereby each elongate support section for supportingan object to be heated has only one elongate collector sectionassociated therewith for the collection of exudate, each elongatesupport section defining a contact surface which, in use, is forsupporting an object to be heated by a heat source beneath the heatingrack, each elongate support section having associated therewith arespective one of the elongate collector sections, each elongatecollector section shaped to define a channel which, in use, isvertically aligned with a respective one of the elongate supportsections for receiving all of the exudate flowing from the associatedsupport section and to direct said exudate to a collection zone at anend of the channel; and each elongate support section and associatedcollector section defining a collector unit, and successive collectorunits being spaced apart so as to permit direct radiant heating of thesupported object which is to be heated by said heat source in adirection substantially perpendicular to a direction of spacing betweenthe collector units concurrent with the collector section channels beingable to receive the exudate, the contact surface of each of the supportsections defining a trough which extends lengthwise of the supportsection, wherein said support and collector sections of the collectorunit are spaced apart over at least a part of the length of the elongatecollector unit, the support section of the collector unit has a firstside surface and a second side surface and the collector section of thecollector unit in use extends under each said side surface of thesupport section of the collector unit thereby simultaneously to collectany exudate flowing down each of said side surfaces concurrent with thesupported object being subject to heating by direct radiation of heatfrom the heat source via the spacings between successive collectorunits, neighboring support sections being spaced apart by at least oneinterconnecting bridge section which is positioned intermediate of endsof the support sections, and the bridge section having an upper surfacewhich in use faces towards said supported object and an undersidesurface, said underside surface being inclined in a downward directionaway from said upper surface, towards the side surface of at least oneof the two support sections between which the bridge section extendswhereby, in use, exudate received on the upper surface of the bridgesection is directed to flow in a direction towards a side surface of atleast one of the two support sections interconnected by said bridgesection.
 19. A heating rack for subjecting a supported object to directradiant heating from a heat source beneath the rack, said heating rackcomprising: a plurality of elongate support sections and a correspondingnumber of elongate collector sections whereby each elongate supportsection for supporting an object to be heated has only one elongatecollector section associated therewith for the collection of exudate,each elongate support section defining a contact surface which, in use,is for supporting an object to be heated by a heat source beneath theheating rack, each elongate support section having associated therewitha respective one of the elongate collector sections, each elongatecollector section shaped to define a channel which, in use, isvertically aligned with a respective one of the elongate supportsections for receiving exudate from a supported object and to directsaid exudate to a collection zone at an end of the channel; and eachelongate support section and associated collector section defining acollector unit, and successive collector units being spaced apart so asto permit direct radiant heating of the supported object which is to beheated by said heat source in a direction substantially perpendicular toa direction of spacing between the collector units concurrent with thecollector section channels being able to receive the exudate, thecontact surface of each of the support sections defining a trough whichextends lengthwise of the support section, wherein said support andcollector sections of the collector unit are spaced apart over at leasta part of the length of the elongate collector unit, the support sectionof the collector unit has a first side surface and a second side surfaceand the collector section of the collector unit in use extends undereach said side surface of the support section of the collector unitthereby simultaneously to collect any exudate flowing down each of saidside surfaces of the support section concurrent with the supportedobject being subject to heating by direct radiation of heat from theheat source via the spacings between successive collector units, thesupport section having a lower end region which lies closer to thecollector section than said contact surface, said first and second sidesurfaces extending between said contact surface and said lower endregion to direct exudate to flow thereover from the contact surface tothe lower end region, and said lower end of the support section beingnarrower than the collector section channel as viewed in cross-section,whereby the channel extends outwards beyond the lower end of each saidside surface, neighboring support sections being spaced apart by atleast one interconnecting bridge section which is positionedintermediate of ends of the support sections, and the bridge sectionhaving an upper surface which in use faces towards said supported objectand an underside surface, said underside surface being inclined in adownward direction away from said upper surface, towards the sidesurface of at least one of the two support sections between which thebridge section extends whereby, in use, exudate received on the uppersurface of the bridge section is directed to flow in a direction towardsa side surface of at least one of the two support sectionsinterconnected by said bridge section.
 20. The heating rack according toclaim 19 wherein, as viewed in cross-section, each collector sectionchannel extends outwards by at least 0.5 mm beyond the lower end regionof each said side surface.
 21. A heating rack for subjecting a supportedobject to direct radiant heating from a heat source beneath the rack,said heating rack comprising: a plurality of elongate support sectionsand a corresponding number of elongate collector sections whereby eachelongate support section for supporting an object to be heated has onlyone elongate collector section associated therewith for the collectionof exudate, each elongate support section defining a contact surfacewhich, in use, is for supporting an object to be heated by a heat sourcebeneath the heating rack, each elongate support section havingassociated therewith a respective one of the elongate collectorsections, each elongate collector section shaped to define a channelwhich, in use, is vertically aligned with a respective one of theelongate support section for receiving all of the exudate flowing fromthe associated support section and to direct said exudate to acollection zone at an end of the channel; and each elongate supportsection and associated collector section defining a collector unit, andsuccessive collector units being spaced apart so as to permit directradiant heating of the supported object which is to be heated by saidheat source in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction ofspacing between the collector units concurrent with the collectorsection channels being able to receive the exudate, the contact surfaceof each of the support sections defining a trough which extendslengthwise of the support section, the collector and support sections ofthe collector unit being of substantially identical cross-sectionalshape, wherein said support and collector sections of the collector unitare spaced apart over at least a part of the length of the elongatecollector unit, the support section of the collector unit has a firstside surface and a second side surface and the collector section of thecollector unit in use extends under each said side surface of thesupport section of the collector unit thereby simultaneously to collectany exudate flowing down each of said side surfaces of the supportsection concurrent with the supported object being subject to heating bydirect radiation of heat from the heat source via the spacings betweensuccessive collector units, the support section having a lower endregion which lies closer to the collector section than said contactsurface, said first and second side surfaces extending between saidcontact surface and said lower end region to direct exudate to flowthereover from the contact surface to the lower end region, and saidlower end of the support section being narrower than the collectorsection channel as viewed in cross-section, whereby the channel extendsoutwards beyond the lower end of each said side surface, neighboringsupport sections being spaced apart by at least one interconnectingbridge section which is positioned intermediate of ends of the supportsections, and the bridge section having an upper surface which in usefaces towards said supported object and an underside surface, saidunderside surface being inclined in a downward direction away from saidupper surface, towards the side surface of at least one of the twosupport sections between which the bridge section extends whereby, inuse, exudate received on the upper surface of the bridge section isdirected to flow in a direction towards a side surface of at least oneof the two support sections interconnected by said bridge section. 22.The heating rack according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of elongatesupport sections are secured against transverse movement relative to theplurality of elongate collector sections.
 23. The heating rack accordingto claim 18, wherein the plurality of elongate support sections aresecured against transverse movement relative to the plurality ofelongate collector sections.
 24. The heating rack according to claim 19,wherein the plurality of elongate support sections are secured againsttransverse movement relative to the plurality of elongate collectorsections.
 25. The heating rack according to claim 21, wherein theplurality of elongate support sections are secured against transversemovement relative to the plurality of elongate collector sections.